Before I get into my post. Thanks to everyone's participation, it seems this is the only place I can educate myself about the joys of pool ownership.

We have a leak, and finally today (weeks later) a pool service company did a pressure test and gave us the bad news. We have a leak somewhere in our underground pipes. Our pool is concrete and has a spa attached. We did not notice initially but our spa has drained down a good 1 - 1.5 ft since the pressure test was done a couple hours ago. Previous it held water fine. Is there any logical answer for this? Does this help us identify where the leak may be?

Also the pool service company was pretty vague on the fix for the leak we have. We have been losing approx 1 inch of water a day out of the pool. They also said they need to dig up all of the pipes to find the leak, does this sound right? We do have pavers around so no concrete needs to be broken up, I was surprised on the diagnosis, but do not have a clue. We have a 2nd person coming next week.... Is there an easy way to pin point this type of leak without digging up all of the lines?

I would appreciate any insights on who the best type of person to contact to fix my issue, and I know this is a impossible question to answer accurately, but how much do should I expect on a repair like this low/high range?

I think we've discussed this before but not sure if it is the same person. NO they do not need to dig up ALL the lines to find the leak! They could at least run a pressure test on suction side plumbing, then a test on pressure side. This will help in narrowing down which pipes. If you can isolate your spa from your pool they can run a test on just the spa suction and pressure side and just the pool suction and pressure side. If you spa is leaking that much I would believe there is a leak there unless it is draining back into the pool. Is it a raised spa? Also, if there was a cracked pipe on the spa side the pressure test may have opened it up more (which sometimes happens but its not a big deal because that means the leak was there anyways). What is your equipment setup? How many pipes come out of the ground and lead into the front of your pump? How many lead back into the ground after all your equipment? A proper pressure test involves cutting each individual line and testing each line. A little plumbing work but its better than digging up your entire deck!

To answer your questions.
1. I believe they only ran a pressure side test and claimed it was the culprit. They plugged all inlets, one they applied a plug with a line and pressure gauge which was attached to a garden hose. The pressure shot up and I was told that we had a leak. The techs were in a hurry and did not do a suction side test nor did they cut into any lines.

2. Spa is elevated and yes it appeared the water drained into the pool, Ironically we also have a heater issue that we are having fixed under American Home Shield Warranty. Last night, a differenct tech who AHS dispatched actually had the Jandy rep for the area (out of Indy) with him to look at the heater once they fired up the pumps, the spa filled back up. Once I go to spa mode or turn off the pump, the spa empties (or equilizes to the pool). This had not occured prior to the "pressure test"

3. Regarding set up. There are 4 lines to the pump labled as: spa drain, shallow skimmer, deep skimmer, and main drain. On the return side there are 3 returns labeled as , wallreturns, spa overflow, and spa heads. There is a 4th pipe on the return side that has been cut and capped off. I didn't pay any attn previously to this. and the pool guys have no idea what purpose it has. Also on the set up we have a 2 horse Pentain Whisperflow pump and a Pentair Clean / Flow cartridge filters. Lastly the pool has a 400k btu LAARS heater.

Also, we are in the Cincinnati area. Should we call "leak detector" to find the actual leak, or can / should this be able to be done from without calling this type of specialist. We do have another company coming out next tuesday to take a look, I hate to have them do the same and learn nothing new.

Thanks again, I agree a little plumbing seems much better. I may be dealing with the wrong service company as well. I'll keep you posted.

The geophone was a giant stethoscope. Very dangerous to use and one needed complete silence. A person who was good with the instrument could locate the smallest leak within a few feet. Think of listening to a heartbeat 4 feet underground. Water in pipes make unique noises when air is induced and you can track it to the source.